MAJOR LEAGUES
Lance Lynn threw eight innings of two-hit ball and Matt Adams homered on his first swing since coming off the disabled list, leading the St Louis Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over Jordan Zimmermann and the Washington Nationals on Friday night.
Lynn (7-4) retired his first 16 batters and struck out eight with no walks against the National League East leaders, who had won 10 of 13. Trevor Rosenthal added three more strikeouts in the ninth, working around rookie second baseman Kolten Wong’s two-out error on Dennard Span’s routine grounder for his 18th save in 21 chances.
Zimmermann (5-3) gave up three hits, two of them by Adams, in eight innings. He is 0-5 against the Cardinals and 0-2 against the Pirates, the only two NL teams he has not beaten.
BLUE JAYS 4, ORIOLES 0
In Baltimore, Drew Hutchison scattered six hits over seven innings in another sparkling performance on the road, while the Blue Jays got a two-run homer from Juan Francisco in a victory over the Orioles.
Hutchison (5-4) outpitched Ubaldo Jimenez (2-8), who allowed two runs and three hits in six innings, but fell to 0-6 at home.
Hutchison struck out three, walked none and permitted only one runner past second base. The right-hander is 1-3 with an 8.72 ERA at home and 4-1 with a 1.79 ERA on the road.
Jimenez was seeking his first win at Camden Yards since signing a US$50 million, four-year contract during the off-season.
TWINS 2, TIGERS 0
In Detroit, Kyle Gibson threw seven innings, while Eduardo Escobar hit a solo homer in the third and drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth for Minnesota.
Detroit left seven on base against Gibson, who escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth by getting Miguel Cabrera to ground into a double play.
Gibson (6-5) allowed five hits and two walks while striking out three. He threw seven scoreless innings for a second straight start and held an opponent without a run for the third time in four outings.
Casey Fien pitched a perfect eighth and Glen Perkins gave up one hit in the ninth, closing the game for his 17th save in 19 chances.
Drew Smyly (3-4) gave up one run, four hits and three walks over six innings.
CUBS 2, PHILLIES 1
In Philadelphia, Jake Arrieta threw seven impressive innings, while Starlin Castro hit a two-run homer as the Cubs beat the Phillies in matchup of last-place teams.
Arrieta (2-1) allowed two hits and no runs, tying a career high with nine strikeouts. He did not give up a hit until Domonic Brown sliced a double just inside the left field line with one out in the fifth.
Phillies starter Roberto Hernandez (2-5) was ejected after hitting Castro with a fastball on the left arm in the sixth inning.
Hernandez allowed two runs and three hits in 5-2/3 innings. He walked Anthony Rizzo leading off the fourth. Castro then drove his ninth homer out to left.
RED SOX 10, INDIANS 3
In Boston, A.J. Pierzynski, Mike Napoli and Dustin Pedroia hit two-run doubles as Boston scored their season-high in runs.
After managing just one run in a three-game series at Baltimore, Boston won their second straight over Cleveland, who have lost four in a row.
Boston’s Xander Bogaerts hit a solo homer in the eighth, his sixth of the season.
John Lackey (8-4) struggled early when he allowed three runs and six hits in three innings, but he gave up just one hit in his next 3-2/3 scoreless innings.
Justin Masterson (4-5) had his shortest stint of the season — two innings plus two walks in the third — 11 days after he had a season-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings against Boston and beat Lackey 3-2.
In other MLB action, it was:
‧ Braves 4, Angels 3
‧ Royals 7, White Sox 2
‧ Rays 6, Astros 1
‧ Reds 6, Brewers 5
‧ Pirates 8, Marlins 6, 13 inns
‧ Mets 6, Padres 2
‧ Yankees 7, Athletics 0
‧ Rangers 1, Mariners 0
‧ Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 3
‧ Rockies 7, Giants 4
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